It’s been quite the (heartbreaking) 24 hours, and we’re still working through it, but after the dismissal of Vertigo Executive Editor Shelly Bond yesterday, many have wondered if this is just a smokescreen to do away with DC’s edgy imprint entirely. While it doesn’t answer all the immediate questions, senior editor Jamie Rich, who is taking over the line while reporting to Dan DiDio and Jim Lee, did tweet the following today:

Like many others, I can say working with @sxbond changed my life. She made me part of an amazing legacy by hiring me last year. 1/3

I’m hearing that Vertigo is indeed sticking around as a separate imprint, at least for the near future. The tv success of Lucifer and iZombie haven’t been forgotten at WB, and it’s still seen as an IP source.

And while you can talk about a lot of things re Bond’s dismissal, the reason is pretty simple: the books were losing money and had been for a while. Some people have pointed to Vertigo’s near shutout in the Eisner nom’s as a sort of final straw, althugh DC as a whole was just as ignored. Certainly, in past years a book like Sandman Overture would have been guaranteed a bunch of nominations. For whatever reason, this year’s jury went in a different direction. While the Eisner timing does look significant, I’d also been hearing about changes at Vertigo personnel for some time.

As for Shelly, I’m told she’s taking the situation like the pro she is. If you look up the word trooper in the dictionary, there’s a picture of Shelly next to it. No one ever worked harder or cared more. She was actually one of the first DC personnel to move out to LA, heading out nearly a year before everyone else. While everyone has been speculating on her contract timing, once again, that’s a bit more complex than it seems.

At any rate, I’m sure she’ll land on her feet in some other creative position where her passion and eye for talent can be taken advantage of.

And as I predicted, there was an endless tweet storm of praise for her, thoughtfully compiled in a Storify. Obvously more to come on all of this.

Heidi MacDonald is the founder and editor in chief of The Beat. In the past, she worked for Disney, DC Comics, Fox and Publishers Weekly. She can be heard regularly on the More To Come Podcast. She likes coffee, cats and noble struggle.